As we work to bring even more value to our audience, we’ve made important changes for those who receive Ad Age with our compliments. As of November 15, 2016 we will no longer be offering full digital access to AdAge.com. However, we will continue to send you our industry-leading print issues focused on providing you with what you need to know to succeed.

If you’d like to continue your unlimited access to AdAge.com, we invite you to become a paid subscriber. Get the news, insights and tools that help you stay on top of what’s next.

Postal Service begins new year with $329 million loss

Most Popular

Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Postal Service reported a first-quarter net loss of $329 million. The service projected that it may run out of operating funds by Sept. 30, the end of its fiscal year.

Mailing services revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $15.30 billion, 3.3% lower than in the year-ago quarter. The Postal Service suffered its largest decline in first-class mail: Revenue in the quarter was $8.77 billion, down 5.8% from the same period last year, as volume declined about the same.

Standard mail, used more often in commercial mailings, saw increases in both revenue and volume. Revenue totaled $4.99 billion, up 7.1% from a year ago, as volume rose 8.6%. However, standard mail generates less revenue than first-class mail.